My Father Le Bijou 1922

My Father Cigars S.A. has a rich history in the Cigar world and a vast amount of blending experience in it’s ranks.  The infamous Garcia family is behind this growing company and factory based out of Nicaragua.  The Garcia family includes the well respected Don Pepin Garcia as well as his up and coming son Jaime Garcia.  Together they are responsible for a variety of great cigars including the the My Father lines and the Tabocos Beaez cigar lines, making up a total of 5 cigar lines.

The Garcia family is also involved in a variety of other cigar lines not under the My Father name.  Some examples include the Don Pepin Garcia line, the Jamie Garcia line, some Tatuaje cigars, the Ashton San Critobal line, El Rey De Los Habanos and many others.  He has also been the creator of a variety of house blended cigars for many different Brick & Mortar Cigar shops.  His son, Jaime Garcia, is just recently making a big splash in the cigar world with his original My Father cigar and the newer Jamie Garcia Reserva Especial.  Between these two gentlemen, there are a variety of great cigars attached to their name.  Aside from blending, the My Father Factory is also the home production facility of some other cigars such as the Nestor Miranda 1989 and the recently released Guillermo Leon line.

The My Father Le Bijou 1922 is blended by Don Pepin Garcia himself as a homage to his father.  The name “Le Bijou” means ‘The Jewel’ in French and the year 1922 is the year his father was born.  Don Pepin set out to make sure this was an excellent smoke worthy of his fathers name.  The wrapper used in this cigar is extremely rare and very difficult to grow.  The Pelo de Oro wrapper (commonly called Nicaraguan Habano Oscuro) is not common due to it’s sensitivity and has hardly ever been used for a large number of years.  It comes in asa lighter and creamier version of a traditional Oscuro.  Being a Nicaraguan Puro cigar, this Le Bijou 1922 is made completely of Nicaraguan tobacco.  Let’s see how this rare “Jewel” fares in today’s review.

Cigar: My Father Le Bijou 1922
Drink: Unibroue Maudite
Vitola: Toro (6 x 52)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano Oscuro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: About $12
Burn Time: 1.75 hours

Construction:
• This cigar is instantly appealing to the eyes with it’s smooth oily appearance and a dark chocolate brown wrapper
• There are some visible medium sized veins but none that look threatening to the burning experience of this cigar
• It has a bit of give when squeezed slight but springs back quickly, there is also one spot near the head and one near the foot that is slightly softer
• The triple cap is very well applied, it’s clean and smooth and blends in extremely well
• The wrapper is very ornate and detailed, another eye appealing point on this fantastic looking cigar
• Cut was a little firm with my double bladed guillotine and produced a lot of flakes but still came out fairly clean

Burn:
• Toasting was fairly easy and even with my single flame culinary torch, the center was a little dark but glowed brightly after the first draw
• Some minor waving at the start but it has been razor sharp going into the half-way point here
• Staying lit effortlessly as well, not need to continuously draw to keep it going
• No issues right to the nub, the burn was razor sharp the whole way through

Smoke & Ash:
• Tons of smoke right from the initial draw
• A fair amount of resting smoke as well,  giving off what seems to be just a burning wood aroma
• The ash is nothing short of picture perfect, it’s clean round, no flaking and very light grey/almost white color
• Although it looks perfect it appears a little weak as the first ash fell off at around half an inch
• The second ash held on much longer, easily passing one inch
• The smoke machine did not let down, always a mouthful of smoke from each draw bringing with it all the great flavors

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper has a grassy aroma to it and is complimented by some spicy notes, perhaps just a touch of pepper
• The foot has a creamy cocoa and woodsy aroma, there is less spice here but still a touch of nutmeg can be detected
• Pre-light draw is very woodsy and earthy with some pepper and nutmeg spice in the mix
• Initial draws are mostly cedar mixed with a white pepper spice and a smooth creamy finish
• The retrohale has no bite despite the spicy notes I’m getting, it’s very smooth and has the same creamy finish
• As I progress I’m getting some nice espresso notes and the spice is slowly fading
• The espresso notes are balancing just perfectly with the creaminess and the cedar
• I can’t emphasize enough how smooth and balanced the cigar is as I apporach the halfway mark, the finish is just right, not even a touch of dryness.  I could smoke this easily without a beverage!
• Just passed the halfway mark the spiciness came back, specifically some more white pepper
• The cedar notes also came bursting out again leaving the espresso behind but the wonderful smooth creamy finish is still lingering
• The retrohale also developed a little bite and the finish has a lot more cedar than before
• The cigar started off with a mild/medium body but as I near the last two inches it’s definitely approaching a medium/full with a touch of cocoa appearing now and then throughout the whole time
• There was almost no harshness built up all the way to the nub, definitely a nub-worthy cigar

Final Thoughts:
This was a very enjoyable cigar.  The My Father Le Bijou 1922 had lots of interesting flavors and they changed up frequently keeping my palate constantly searching for the new notes.  This is definitely the type of cigar you want to sit down and pay attention to in order to get it’s full experience.  All factors considered I don’t really have anything I can complain about, from the pre-smoke visuals right down to the nub there was nothing I can say I didn’t enjoy.  The one gripe if any about this cigar will be the price, it rings in at over $11 and that may turn away some customers but I have to say it is a worthwhile investment.  It may not make it into your regular rotation for some people but it’s definitely worth having some around.  The construction, dimensionality, flavors and smoothness all make it a great experience.

Pairings:
The Unibroue brewery from Quebec, Canada is quickly making it’s way to the top of my favorite breweries list.  I’ve said this before but their brews never disappoint.  I’ve included the La Fin du Monde by Unbroue in a previous pairing for the Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story.  The standard bottle size comes adorned with a gold foil wrapper top and an odd label with a demon and some people paddling a canoe in a red sky.  The flavors are incredibly complex bringing a variety of hoppiuness, bitterness, fruitiness, and even a slight floral note.  It is uniquely refermented on a yeast base and clocks in at 8% alc./vol.  It’s definitely worth trying and although not the best pairing here I think it actually added a layer of interesting flavors to this already complex cigar.  It may come as no surprise here but I think a Port would have been the perfect pairing for the cedar, spice and creamy notes of the Le Bijou 1922.  Other good pairings would include red wine, scotch, coffee or a dark soda.